Little Insecurities
by KiddoBuscus
Summary: Human AU: Fresh out of college, Calliope gets a job as an art manager at SKAIANET, one of the top gaming companies of the country. Calliope/Roxy, Erisol.
1. Chapter 1

_ Do it. Move your feet and walk up the steps._

_ You can just turn around and go home. Find a job working at a fabric store or something._

_ Do it._

_ This is a job at a gaming company, for Chrissake! What the hell do I know about gaming?!_

_ Maybe you don't know how to program, but you can design. You can sketch characters, backgrounds and stuff. They need that, right?_

_ This is stupid. Its going to be a bunch of old men making poker apps._

_ This is the most professional job you're gonna get! You just graduated, you have no experience! Don't waste this._

_ You can just turn around and go home._

_ CALLIOPE ENGLISH. YOU JUST GOT A JOB AS AN ART MANAGER AT SKAIANET GAMING INDUSTRIES, AND ALL YOU HAD TO DO WAS SUBMIT A PORTFOLIO. FOR GODS SAKE, SCRAPE UP WHAT LITTLE DIGNITY YOU HAVE LEFT AND GO INSIDE!_

_ You can just turn around and go home._

_ Do it. _

_ Do it._

_ Do. It._

Calliope pulled her lime green sweater vest down over her grey skirt, fingers fiddling with the soft fabric. The light city breeze ruffled her cropped platinum locks. She gazed up, emerald eyes scanning the high rise building towering above her.

So, this was _the_ SKAIANET headquarters. There were a multitude of windows, and a few blurry figures paced behind the glass. Soon, Calliope could be behind a window, shuffling papers or typing on a computer. She grimaced at the thought. The last thing she wanted to do was get stuck punching keys in front of a computer all day. She didn't get a Bachelor's Degree in Production Design to spend her life in an office. Then again, she was hired as an Art Manager. Last time Callie checked, that didn't require any computer work.

_ They wouldn't have hired you if you couldn't do it. But they did hire you. You can do this. You'll make their next game the best bloody game they ever made!_

Calliope was already striding through the doors and across the lobby. She jammed her finger onto the button labeled '8'. The elevator doors slid shut with a ding, and the box shot upwards.

* * *

><p>Her breath hitched as she looked at the door. It was plain, fitting for the nondescript hallway. The only thing that set it apart was the plastic tag labeled "SKAIANET", tacked onto the wood. Raising a pale, shaking hand, Callie knocked three times.<p>

She waited.

Silence.

Eyebrows furrowing, she knocked again. More silence.

She was about to leave when she heard a faint cursing, and footsteps. The door swung open. Clutching the doorknob was a man, probably not much older than Calliope but almost a foot shorter. He was Hispanic, with chestnut hair and a large sweater. He looked worn out, with dark rings under his eyes and a deep frown.

"The fuck do you want?" He met her gaze with an exasperated expression as she fiddled with her bag.

"I'm Calliope. English. Calliope English, sir." She scolded herself internally for sounding so tentative. "I'm the new Art Manager." He looked her up and down, scrutinizing.

"Fine, just come in." He turned and walked back to a desk, collapsing in his chair.

Calliope's eyes widened. The room had brick walls and amber wood floors. The small space was dominated by three large desks, with proportionally large computers. All of the computers ran into one large outlet, various speakers, and monitors. The small space echoed with the sound of keyboards typing and printers spitting out sheet after sheet of codes. To Calliope's right was a hallway leading out to more rooms. The short man was at his desk, looking at Callie from the corner of his eye. At another desk was a man with ruffled black hair, buck teeth, and glasses. In the center of the room was the desk with the largest computer. Slouched behind it, a brunette was typing furiously. He had hetochromatic glasses, and a lanky legs jammed awkwardly under the desk. All three of the men looked only half alive, and Mr. Buck Teeth looked like he was already asleep, with his head on the keyboard.

Calliope was jolted out of her reverie by a loud cough from the short man. He nodded his head towards the hallway. She bit her lip nervously, and gave her a look as if to say 'Are you five?! The fuck are you even doing?! GO.' She turned and started down the hallway, peering into the next few rooms. The first had five girls seated at a large circular table, each with sheets of paper surrounding her. A blonde with a black headband and a ginger with glasses were talking animatedly, Glasses gesturing widely with her hands. In the next room, a girl with ridiculously long brown hair was unfurling a roll of paper that looked like a- the girl glanced up, and met Calliope's gaze. Her face broke out into a wide smile. Tentatively, Calliope smiled back, but the girl was already bounding towards the door. She threw it open, breathless.

"Hi! Are you the new Art gill?" Calliope raised her eyebrows.

"Gill?"

The girl ducked her head, giggling. "Fish puns. Sorry, bad habit."

Callie nodded in understanding. "Oh, its perfectly fine with me! And yes, my name is Calliope English."

"Feferi Peixes!" Feferi shook her hand eagerly. "Roxy told me we had a new Art Manager, but she didn't tell me anyfin else. C'mon, I'll show you your team!"

"Feferi?" Both girls turned to look at the woman in the room who had just spoken. She was tall, with olive skin and tattoos spiraling up her arms.

"I'm just taking Calliope over to meet her team, Porrim." Porrim nodded approvingly, and Feferi led Callie down the hall.

"So, didja meet anyone else yet?"

"Um, not really. There was one short man who let me in, though. He was short, with brown hair?" Feferi made a face.

"That's Karkat. Sorry, he's usually pretty grumpy, but Roxy threw a party last night and most of the Programming Team are stuck with massive hangovers." Calliope hummed thoughtfully as Feferi stopped in front of the door. "Now, Roxy tends to get a little carried away at these parties, so you probably wont meet her today. But then again, she's the head of the company, so you cant avoid her for long!" Feferi winked.

"I suppose so. Roxy is the Project Director here, correct?

"And the Lead Producer, and the Manager. She basically runs this place." Feferi opened the door. "Andrew! Jade, Aradia! Come meet the new head of your team!" A curvy girl with long brown hair perked up, looking away from a freshly inked sketch. The girl next her slid on her glasses and blinked, vision focusing. "Aradia, Jade, this is Calliope English." Calliope waved, suddenly self conscious.

"Hi! I'm Jade!" Glasses girl stood up, weaving her way around the desk. "I'm one of your designers. So is Aradia." She motioned back to the other girl, who smiled. "The Lead Artist on our team is Andrew, but..." All three women grimaced. "He keeps killing off all of our characters. Honestly, we really need someone else to be in charge." At that moment, a man with short brown hair and a green shirt walked in. He stopped in front of Calliope. There was a long pause as he stared blankly into her eyes.

"I am a horse. I am timeless." He shuffled back to his desk.

"...He does that." Jade murmured, leading Callie to a desk that sat by a window. "Well, here! This is your desk."

It was large, with cabinets filled with paper of various weights and sizes. Next to the desk were large rolls of clean paper, neatly piled into a bin. Calliope set down her bag, pulling out her sketchbook and placing it on the desk. It looked out of place on such a clean, organized surface.

"Oooh, is this your art? Can I see?" Feferi picked up Callie's book, turning a few pages.

"Er, um, I'd rather that you didn't, actually... erm, can I-" Calliope stuttered, flustered. Jade snatched the sketchbook from Feferi.

"Fef, this stuff is personal. You can see her art later, when she sketches for us." Jade gave Fef a look, who glanced apologetically at Calliope.

"Sorry, Callie."

"Oh, its alright, no need to worry!"

Jade set the book back down on the desk. "Go, meet everyone, you can start actual work tomorrow. Fef, can you bring me some of your team's designs so we can get to work on the principle characters?"

"Sure fin, Jade! Callie, you should come meet the rest of my team!" Feferi darted out the door.

"It was nice meeting you, Jade!" Jade was already back at her desk, sifting through a box of pencils.

"You too, Callie!"

* * *

><p>"Kanaya, dear, would you pass me the sketch for the A9 background?"<p>

"Of course, let me see... That's odd... Honestly, where on Earth did Eridan put it?!"

Feferi led Calliope into the room.

"Kanaya, Porrim, this is Callie! She's our new Art Manager." Kanaya, a girl with short, dark, curly hair, stood up from where she was digging through a box of sketches.

"Feferi, where the hell did Eridan put the sketches from scenes A9 to A15?!" Feferi frowned, thinking.

"I thought he was just scanning them yesterday..."

"Well he-" Suddenly, a man stumbled in. He was dressed in a collared shirt, vest, slacks, and an absurdly large scarf.

"I'm here- Augh, Fef, do you havve any Tylenol or somethin-" The man ran a hand through his brown hair, bringing out a streak of purple in his bangs. Kanaya approached him, hands clenched into fists.

"Eridan Ampora, where the hell did-" He held up a hand, rings weighing down his fingers.

"Kan, I havve the wworlds wworst hangover right now. I'm not in the mood." He stumbled into his chair, hiding his face in his scarf. Kanaya growled.

"_So help me, Eridan, I will_-" Eridan cut her off, waving his hand in the general direction of a stack of papers. Kanaya pursed her lips and retrieved the stack. Feferi sighed disapprovingly, but handed him a small orange bottle filled with white capsules.

"I told you not to go to that party. You took so many glubbin shots, I thought you died." He ignored her, swallowing two of the pills dry.

"Jeez, ED. You look like shit." Everyone looked up. Leaning against the door frame was the man with the red and blue glasses. Eridan's eyes narrowed.

"You're one to talk, Sollux." The man smirked.

"Touche, fish breath." His gaze flicked to Callie."So you're the new one, huh. Sollux Captor."

She brightened. "Calliope English."

Sollux tilted his head inquisitively. "You have a British accent."

"Yep! Just moved here with my brother."

Eridan straightened, grinning mischievously. "Oh, I like this one."

Sollux shot him a look as Calliope flushed bright red. "Still hitting on everything that moves, Eri-desperate?"

"Unlike you, I actually havve standards, _Tholluxth._" Sollux moved towards the desk, but Feferi grabbed his arm.

"Not now, bouys, you're scaring Callie." They glared at each other, but Sollux stepped back.

"I have to go finish programming A6's practice mod. Nice meeting you, CL." Sollux ambled out as Eridan straightened his purple vest.

"Jerk," he muttered, glaring bitterly at the door.

"Eridan!" Feferi exclaimed. "Stop it. He's just tired after the party. Plus, he only has two other people on his programming team! He's pushing himself too hard." She shot a worried glance at the door. Eridan frowned.

"It's his fault he doesn't trust anyone else wwith his precious fuckin' codes." Feferi put her hands on her hips.

"I'm going to check on him. Callie? I could introduce you to John and Karkat, if you want."

Calliope nodded brightly. "Sure, I'd love too!"

The girls hurried out. Eridan watched them leave, heaving a sigh. Kanaya raised an eyebrow.

"Are you going to tell him?"

Eridan looked at her with a bored expression. "Hm?"

"I _said_, are you going to tell him?" Kanaya repeated.

Eridan pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "Tell who what?"

"Tell Sollux Captor that you're madly in love with him?"

Eridan jolted upright, blushing madly. "WWHAT?! WHO- WWHY THE FUCK WWOULD I TELL HIM THAT I MEAN I DON'T EVVEN LIKE HIM WWHO TOLD YOU THAT I LIKED HIM WWAS IT KAR IT WWAS KAR WWASNT IT-" Kanaya shushed him, failing to conceal a grin.

"So, its true then?"

Eridan opened his mouth, as if to argue, but stopped. He buried his head in his arms, defeated. Kanaya smiled knowingly, and leaned back in her chair.

"He's going to figure it out sooner or later, you know." Eridan said nothing. After a moment, Kanaya sighed and got up.

"I'm going for coffee with Rose. I must recommend speaking with him, Eridan." She was gone.

Eridan sat up, lost in thought.

"I'm afraid I must agree with my sister on this matter."

Eridan glowered at Porrim.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Hey guys! Three favorites already, y'all are the bestest ^u^. Cover art is by my amazing fabulous moirail, H3R M4J3STY. Enjoy!**

"Jade, might I ask a favor?" Jade glanced up from her tablet, stylus paused mid stroke.

"Oh, sure thing Callie! Whats up?" Calliope wrung her hands.

"It seems that I have positively no idea where to start. In terms of character design, I mean. Could you possibly lead me to wherever the voice actors are? I would love to meet them, maybe get some inspiration and such?" Jade stood, pleased, tablet in hand.

"Of course! Their room is on the other side of the hall. I don't think Rufioh's here yet, but I know I saw Gamzee coming in with Karkat."

"Excellent!" Calliope exclaimed, tugging her oversized green hoodie down over her hands. It was a habit she had developed in high school, but never quite grown out of. Callie took a moment to straighten her shorts and brush back her hair. She was guessing that the elusive Ms. Lalonde would finally make an appearance today, and Callie wanted to make a good impression.

"Here they are!" Jade stopped in front of a room that was lined with soundproof padding. It contained stools, microphones, and a table with a soundboard and headsets. Leaning on a soundboard was a woman with long blond hair and icy blue eyes. She was chatting with a girl Callie had seen before. The other girl had feiry ginger hair that flipped up at the ends, and red sunglasses. She had an eyebrow raised, listening to the blonde.

Jade's smile faltered. "Looks like Vriska's here, too." The blonde caught Jade's eye, then flipped her hair and smirked.

"Well, look who finally showed up." The blonde girl sauntered over. "You can call me Mindfang. You must be Call-" The ginger butted in, stepping in front of the girl.

"That's Vriska. I'm Terezi." Terezi leaned forward, sniffing the air. Jade giggled at Calliope's confusion.

"Terezi's blind, Callie. This is how she, er- _sees_." Terezi leaned back.

"You smell like mint." Terezi grinned devilishly. "Mint and limes."

"Oh, really? I do enjoy limes..." Calliope tilted her head thoughtfully.

"Hate to break up this little meet up, but I need to go see my dweeb of a boyfriend." Vriska said, hand on her hip. Terezi stood back, waving an arm dramatically towards the door.

"Your majesty," Terezi gave a mock bow as Vriska strode past haughtily. "Jeez, what a bitch," Terezi commented after Vriska left. Jade hummed in agreement.

"Well, maybe I can sh-" A chorus of chatter erupted from the front office. Terezi and Jade shared an excited look.

"Roxy's probably back!" Jade squealed, grasping Calliope's hand. "Lets go!" The girls hurried down the hallway toward the front room.

* * *

><p>"Its not my fault that my desk is right in front of the fucking door!"<p>

"Well you could have at least tried to show her around, KK."

"She left on her fucking own, I'm sure she was fine wandering by her own damn self!"

"Guys!" A blonde stepped between the two, hands raised. "Did you seriously leave her wandering around? Like, she could get lost or something!"

"Thankfully, she didn't!" Jade piped up from the doorway. "Roxy, this is Calliope!" Calliope's eyes widened.

Roxy was... pretty.

Really, really pretty.

Shit.

She had flawless caramel skin and blond hair that framed her face in a few soft curls. Warm brown eyes blinked curiously at Calliope, studying her features. Calliope's face burned. Roxy waggled her fingers.

"Hey Callie! Jeez, you're cute." Calliope ducked her head, stuttering.

"Erm, hullo..." Sollux leaned forward.

"You're scaring her, RL." Roxy bit her lip.

"Shit, really?" She turned back, hesitant smile plastered to her face, and a hand outstreched. "Roxy Lalonde!" Calliope smiled shyly, taking her hand. Roxy's own smile softened into a lazy grin. Callie stepped back, hands clasped as she examined the infamous woman curiously. She was wearing a sweater with a pink cat, and black leggings. She looked like a high school student, maybe a freshman in college. If she was managing the company... Roxy seemed to read her mind._  
><em>

"23." Calliope started.

"Hm?" Roxy smiled endearingly.

"I'm 23."

"Oh, that's not what I-" Roxy waved her off.

"No, its totally okay, I get that that a looooot" Roxy rolled her eyes comically. "But yeaaah, manager of Skaianet!"

"She's the only one who's ever hacked into one of my systems," Sollux lisped. Roxy nodded proudly.

"Yup! Besides me, Captor's the best programmer we've got!" Callie looked towards Karkat for a reaction, but he only nodded affirmativly.

"As much as it kills me to admit it, she's right. That fuckass knows what he's doing." Sollux shrugged tiredly. Roxy scanned his sagging posture and half-lidded eyes with a speculative eye.

"We're gonna have a talk about this later," she stated. He trudged back to his desk and returned to the computer. Roxy frowned.

"I swear, he's gonna work himself to death someday." Karkat scoffed.

"Nah, he's got Eridan to drag him away from his work."

Sollux twitched. "Shut. Up."

"Come on, Sollux, you _know_ he-"

"_So help me, KK, if you finish that sentance-_"

"Yeah, yeah, you're in denial, we get it."

The men were interrupted by a peal of bright laughter. Calliope tried to stifle her giggles, but to no avail.

"Sorry," She calmed, pulling her hoodie over her hands again. Roxy looked at her oddly. After a moment, Calliope met her gaze.

"...Yes?"

Roxy jolted. "Oh! Er, nothing!" Just gonna... um, code things. Yup... goin' to code things." Roxy hurried out, face tinged pink. Calliope's brows furrowed. Her brother had always teased her about her laugh... Was it really _that_ bad? Calliope bit her lip.

Sollux observed Roxy's dramatic exit from over his computer screen, eyes glinting. "Well... this'll be interesting."


End file.
